[Trade] [PA] - Conversations & Fruit - [Currying Favour]

The newcomers to the islands had made things tense, strange, wrought… and troublesome. But despite that everything seemed fine at first glance. That is until you stepped in the wrong spot. The newcomers, strange flitting little creatures called Oviraptors had brought with them strange new plants, seeds scattering everywhere producing weird blooms that were noxious, painful, and in some cases even toxic all together depending on what you walked into first. First it was the smell, some odd blooms that stank and attracted insects and flies. Then some of the herbivorous dinosaurs of the island ate some of the strange new plants which turned out to be horribly toxic, leaving many in pain, some throthing at the mouth and dying, others becoming ill and spiting back up the plants they tried to eat.

Then of course there the carnivores… A large portion of of these new plants made hunting or accessing their typical food sources difficult- thorns and vines that clung and dug into skin, strange bristled plants that stung and burned flesh and hide. It was annoying at best and downright dangerous at worst. Which led to where they all were now, dinosaurs of all kinds trying to track down the Oviraptors- some for answers, others to simply take out their frustrations on the little creatures, like doing away with the little beasts would somehow solve the problem.

This was not the way Rose intended to go about it however. The Suchomimus, while having had a few run-ins with the dangerous new flora of the islands already, was far too gentle a heart to be confrontational with the little beasts. One was more likely to catch flies with honey than venom after all. So she crafted a plan, collecting a selection of reeds from nearby a river that led out to the beach of Isla Kela. She had even found help, a Styracosaur, covered in merled patches named Cordelia who helped her gather some select offerings while they tracked down the Oviraptors that wandered skittishly about the island.

The Suchomimus, her feathers a bright pink and pristine white speaking through a mouthful of kelp as she turned to look at the shorter, round shape of the styracosaur who walked quietly beside her, some sort of fruit held in her beak. “Bo You Thinth They Eah Plams?” The words muffled by the mouthful of kelp the suchomimus carried earning a pause, a brow raising slightly as the Styracosaur tilted her head slightly, stopping for a moment, her voice calm even as she spoke. “Pardon?” The request for clarification making Rose pause, putting the kelp down to instead pick them up to carry with her foreclaws as she repeated herself again. “Plants, do you think they eat them?”

The Suchomimus continuing to walk now as the rotund shape of the styracosaur followed along with her, a orange fruit clasped in her beak, but not blocking her tongue to she could speak. “Maybe, they’re skittish like prey…” Cordelia paused, her feathers spiking up as she stopped suddenly, dead in her tracks as she sighted something ahead. The suchomimus unaware as she kept on walking, lost in her own world just as a small, gangly shape burst from the foliage along a worn path worn by the feet of dinosaurs along a cliffline. The shape a strange mix of banded brown and black that warbled in a panic before freezing, amber eyes large when it sighted the two, looking for a moment like it was about to run before it sighted the juicy fruit in the styracosaur’s beak. The creature unknown but clearly an Oviraptor based on the fact it almost looked like a Utahraptor but held none of the innate threat, too odd and toothless to be a predator as it paused, head bowing low, wary of the threat. A strange blue pattern on it’s neck and crest, as bright as she sea as it spoke up, voice rapid and panicked. “No eat Mischief?” The oviraptor eyeing the two warily as the suchomimus and styracosaur both blinked in unison, Cordelia had never heard one of them speak before. Her mouth full instead earning the oviraptor a shake of her head as the she gave the suchomimus a pointed look. The carnivore not noticing Cordelia’s prompting until she bumped her with her side with a huff, making her startle and begin to speak- right, they were here for information, to make friends. “Y-Yeah we won’t eat you, that wouldn’t be nice at all. We want to be friends actually, have a few questions.” Rose smiled, the suchomimus bending down to place down the armful of kelp she held in her claws, pushing it forward with her long snout before standing upright again, giving the oviraptor a toothy smile that made the small dinosaur recoil a little. Her smile instantly dropping so as to not scare the little omnivore off. ‘Okay, no smiling…” Rose thought, watching as Cordelia took a step forward to place down the fruit held in her beak, nudging it forward with her horn,

The two waiting quietly for the Oviraptor to approach before they spoke. The oviraptor sniffing at the two offerings of food before moving to pick up the fruit Cordelia had offered them in their strange, almost hand-like claws, Cordelia moving to speak first this time only to be interrupted by Rose first. Her thoughts going off tangent as she watched the Oviraptor examine the fruit in her claws. “Do you like fruit? We weren’t sure what you ate.” A slight tone of concern hanging in her voice as the Oviraptor looked up, bug eyes bulging a bit as her head tilted slightly. “Yes, MIschief eat anything, all things.” Her beak darting forward to the fruit held in her claws to take a bite of it, juice coating her beak and the feathers of her chin and throat as Cordelia- the Styracosaur interjected. “We were curious as to where you come from, some strange plants have been appearing since you arrived on the island. Could you… tell us?” Cordelia paused, the styracosaur, a dusty brown patchwork of colour giving the Oviraptor a curious look as she ate her fill before speaking.

“Yes! Maybe? No…. Yes.” Cordelia sighed, it was just like talking to Rose about something. The Styracosaur lowering herself to lay down on her belly, legs tucked underneath her as Rose made to mimic her movements, still watching the Oviraptor with an awed gaze in her vibrant green eyes, rosey coloured feathers glittering in the sun. “So where do  you come from?” Rose blinked, settling down for what was sure to be in Cordelia’s opinion a VERY long conversation that may take more than a few hours to bear anything worthwhile.